Minus two star pitchers, NL Central remains overrated
Cubs players often talked about winning a competitive NL Central last year like it was some sort of impressive accomplishment.
Was it really? Four teams from the division made the playoffs, a record that may never be broken, but all four lost in the first round. The lack of games outside the division last year might have created a bubble of denial.
But the Cubs are defending division champs and four teams will try to wrestle away the crown. Here's a look at what's in store for 2021:
St. Louis
This was an offseason of subtraction for the NL Central, with the top two finishers in Cy Young voting (Cincinnati's Trevor Bauer and Cubs' Yu Darvish) moving west. But the Cardinals actually made a splash-worthy addition, snagging five-time all-star 3B Nolan Arenado in a trade from Colorado.
Heading into the shortened season, Arenado had posted five straight years of at least 37 home runs. The Cardinals could use a some pop to the lineup, since they were last in the NL in home runs. So this could be a division-changing move, as long as Arenado's power translates to a lower altitude.
St. Louis moved on from 2B Kolten Wong and OF Dexter Fowler, but are otherwise similar to last season. With pitchers Dakota Hudson and Miles Mikolas shelved due to Tommy John surgery, the Cardinals could use a bounce-back year from Jack Flaherty.
Milwaukee
The strength of the Brewers is pretty obvious, it's the 1-2 bullpen punch of Devin "Airbender" Williams and Josh Hader. They also have a couple of solid starters in Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff.
The question marks belong to former MVP Christian Yelich, who nose-dived from a .329 average to .205. As Cubs fans know, Yelich isn't the only former MVP who struggled during the shortened season. So maybe he'll bounce back, or maybe Milwaukee will go nowhere without him.
The Brewers will get OF Lorenzo Cain back after he opted out during the 2020 season, and they added a couple free agents in 2B Kolten Wong and OF Jackie Bradley Jr. OF Ryan Braun is an unsigned free agent said to be leaning toward retirement.
Cincinnati
Trevor Bauer, Luis Castillo, Tyler Mahle and Sonny Gray were good enough on the mound to get the Reds to the playoffs despite a dismal .212 team batting average.
Will a rotation without Bauer be good enough? And without closer Raisel Iglesias, who was traded to the Angels?
The basic plan in Cincinnati is to add 2B prospect Jonathan India to the lineup, while moving Mike Moustakas to 3B and Eugenio Suarez to SS.
Pittsburgh
The rebuild continues for the Pirates and the only real highlight at the moment is a potential rookie of the year campaign for 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes.
There may be more focus on who the Pirates select with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft than how many wins second-year manager Derek Shelton, a Gurnee native, can coax from this roster.